Trump escalates pressure on Tehran by reiterating deadline on Tuesday to reopen the waterway
\n WASHINGTON
\nUS President Donald Trump said there was a \u201cgood chance\u201d of a deal with Tehran on Monday shortly after promising strikes on Iran\u2019s power plants and bridges on Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
\nIn an expletive-laden post Sunday morning, Trump promised the \u201ccrazy b\u2014\u2014\u2014-\u201d would be \u201cliving in Hell\u201d if the waterway isn\u2019t opened to marine traffic.
\n\u201cTuesday \u200bwill be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!\u201d Trump said in a Truth Social post, \u200creferencing the \u200ckey shipping lane that \u200bTehran has \u200ceffectively closed since the US \u200cand Israel launched attacks on Iran more than a month ago.
\n\u201cOpen the F\u2014\u2014-\u2019 Strait, you crazy \u200cb\u2014\u2014\u2014-, or you\u2019ll be living in Hell\u2013JUST WATCH!,\u201d Trump said, ending his Easter morning post with: \u201cPraise be to Allah.\u201d
\nBut in an interview with Fox News shortly after, he said he believes there is a \u201cgood chance\u201d of making a deal with Iran on Monday, ahead of his deadline for Tehran to reopen the strait.
\n\u201cI think there is a good chance tomorrow, they are negotiating now,\u201d the president said.
\n\u201cIf they don\u2019t make a deal and fast, I\u2019m considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil,\u201d he added.
\nThe president separately said he would hold a news conference on Monday in the Oval Office, after the US military rescued two US pilots whose aircraft were \u200bdowned \u200bin Iran.
\nTrump had previously threatened strikes two weeks ago, but extended the deadline for Iran to reopen the waterway twice, claiming there were positive signs in negotiations with the Iranians.
\nBut there have been few public signs of progress in a diplomatic off-ramp to the war.
\nIran showed no signs of backing down, striking economic and infrastructure targets in neighboring Gulf Arab countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trump escalates pressure on Tehran by reiterating deadline on Tuesday to reopen the waterway WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump said there was a \u201cgood chance\u201d of a deal with Tehran on Monday shortly after promising strikes on Iran\u2019s power plants and bridges on Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened. In an expletive-laden […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-540227","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n